XI'AN - More than 380,000 people, or 100,000 households, will be relocated in 2012 as a part of a massive relocation project in Shaanxi province, confirmed an official of the province on Friday.

In 2012, about 285,000 people in southern Shaanxi and 88,000 people in northern Shaanxi will be relocated away from their disaster-prone hometowns, said Zhao Zhengyong, governor of Shaanxi.

In 2011, Shaanxi started the relocation project involving some 2.8 million people, the largest project of its kind ever undertaken by the Chinese government. The number of people being relocated is about twice that relocated to make way for the Three Gorges Dam.

About 152,000 people in southern Shaanxi and 78,000 people in northern Shaanxi were relocated last year, said Zhao.

In 2012, the provincial government will allocate 1.7 billion yuan ($269.28 million) to the poverty reduction and relocation project. Another 3.21 billion yuan will be put aside to solve the housing issues of people facing financial difficulties, Zhao said.

Shaanxi is vulnerable to a variety of natural disasters, including landslides and floods. In July 2010, nearly 300 people died in rain-triggered disasters in the province.